stemmle Plumbing co A very deceptive and manipulative plumbing company that practices unprofessional sales tatics!! richmond Virginia

We broke an outdoor faucet pipe on our outside wall so we called a plumbling company name Stemmle Plumbing to repair it. We were told a plumber would be out after lunch between noon and four. At ten o'clock the company called to inform us that they could send a service tech out instead of a plumer immediately if we would like. Of course we liked so we agreed.

Upon arrival the tech had us approach the van to tell us there was a $79.00 non-refundable travel fee and before he could park we had to sign the agreement. That should have been the first clue of a scam but we were desperate so we agreed. The tech then parked and went to look at the job to provide us a price. So back to the van he went only to strum through a booklet of assorted prices for differtent jobs. After waiting for ten minutes I went to the van to find out why the delay. To my surprise the tech was preparing to charge me for a frozen out door copper pipe. Well we finally found the proper job which was replace outdoor faucet.

There were three different prices starting at $550.00 down to $280.00. When asked why so much for a new faucet and a foot of copper tubing his reply was that it was a new industry standard that all plumbing companies were using. Well I should have paid the $79.00 and said goodbye but he was a nice old man. I continued to question the high expense so he pulled the old indoor home sales trick. " Let me call my manager and see if I can get you a better price"? Of course the manager didn't answer so a message was left. When the manager did call back the tech pretended to be defending my concern of overly inflated prices and the manager authorized a reduction to $175.00 plus the travel cost. I agreed.

Not only does this company over inflate prices but they don't complete the job. I had to tighten the valve stem to set the seal and then it had a grounding cable attached to it. When I asked the tech about replacing it he said " just take a hose clamp and attache the wires to it". For the money you'd think they would at least take the time to complete the job!!

Well the tech found out I was a senior citizen and offered a five percent discount. Even with the discount the job finished out at $280.00!!!!! If I hadn't had a broken arm I would have done this myself.

Beware of this company for residential services, as they practice what is known as high ticket shock. I used to use the same tactic when selling in home consumer water proofing where I would begin with a outrageously high cost and then breaking the shock by being the hero and calling my manager to negoiate a better price for my customer. This is not only a very unprofessional method but it is a bit unethical for a professional HVAC company. They didn't inform us at the time of the call of any travel expense and for the cost of a faucet from ACE hardware and a foot of tubing I could have called a handyman off of craigslist for alot less and have had the job completed correctly for alot less.

If all plumbers are practicing consumer repairs in this manner then my attorney needs to get a license as the end cost was $286.46 for a twelve dollar faucet, 12 inches of tubing and fifteen minutes of time comes out to $19.00 per minute!!!Even if I had ran over to ACE and purchased the supplies he would have still charged me the same!! I'm actually losing my confidence in our professional services and will go to Craigslist before the yellow pages in the future. It may not be the safest but when I don't even make ten dollars an hour I can't afford the so called professional's!!!

CONSUMERS DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND MAKE SURE THE DISPATCHER PROVIDES FULL DISCLOSURE ON ALL THE EXPENSES PRIOR TO AGREEING TO ANYTHING BEING DONE!!